AHA Stat Blog

Rural hospitals have been and always will be a critical part of the nation’s health care delivery system. For nearly one-in-five Americans, they offer a caring and compassionate lifeline for individuals and families who would have few health care options otherwise.

The Congressional Budget Office recently published a report that compares prices for hospital and physicians services paid by commercial insurers

This year, I look forward to continuing AHA’s leadership dialogues on trending topics with health care, business and community leaders from around the country.

Congress returns to Washington, D.C., next week and its top focus will be passing a spending package that keeps the government funded past Feb. 18. 

The AHA Next Generation Leaders Fellowship helps ensure a robust and well-supported community of next generation health care leaders. Paired with a C-suite-level mentor from another health care organization, the fellows complete a year-long transformation project designed to solve a strategic challenge for their own organization.

For the past two years, our hospital and health system teams have shown compassion and courage as they’ve worked tirelessly to care for our communities during the greatest public health challenge of our lifetime. To all of those on the front lines, we express our sincere gratitude for your continued efforts, commitment and resiliency.

Collaborating on key issues affecting hospitals and the health care system. Creating solutions to some of the biggest health care challenges impacting our country. Connecting with colleagues from across the country to share knowledge, ideas and support as we work to advance health in America. 

The American Hospital Association responds to the New York Times Opinion Video "We Know the Real Cause of Crisis in Our Hospitals. It's Greed." For two long years, the dedicated women and men of America’s hospitals and health systems have experienced firsthand the overwhelming impact of COVID-19. They have worked tirelessly and courageously day in and day out to care for patients in their communities.

Record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases. Unprecedented workforce shortages. Persistent supply chain challenges. 

To help hospitals and health system leaders stay up-to-date on all of the legal developments related to CMS’ vaccine mandate, the AHA has developed a blog authored by Sean Marotta, a partner at Hogan Lovells and outside counsel for the AHA. See the initial post and check back regularly for updates as new developments occur.

Wright L. Lassiter III is president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System. Lassiter has more than 30 years of experience working in large, complex health systems, including Alameda Health System in Oakland, Calif., Dallas Methodist Health System and JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, Texas.

Turn on the TV or open a newspaper these days and you’re likely to see a story that isn’t “news” at all to our stressed and burned-out care providers. The headline: They need help so they can continue helping others. 

As we reach the end of year two confronting a hopefully once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, caregivers are understandably tired from giving their all to care for patients, comfort families, save lives and protect communities. 

Hospitals and health systems continue working to stem incidents of workplace violence and enhance security. To support these efforts, AHA collaborated with the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety to support health care organizations’ and security leaders’ efforts.

Hospitals and health systems are today in the midst of a rapidly changing health care landscape. It sometimes feels like changes are weekly, if not daily, and the need to be constantly responsive can sometimes compromise the capacity of hospital leaders to be reflective and think about what’s happening on a broader, societal level.

Whether it’s responding to a pandemic, natural disasters or other medical emergencies, hospitals are ready when our communities need us. Through nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic the challenges have been many, but I’ve often said this marathon we’re running is our finest hour. 

America’s hospitals and physicians filed a lawsuit in an effort to protect patients’ access to critical health care services. At issue is the implementation of the No Surprises Act, legislation that both the AHA and AMA worked vigorously to get enacted in order to protect patients from surprise medical bills for out-of-network care.   

Tamiko Stanley, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Luminis Health, reflects on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and best practices moving forward.

Although the COVID-19 marathon is not yet over, it’s a good time to pause and consider the health care landscape ahead. 

With the calendar turning to December, Congress finds itself in a familiar position: a long to-do-list, impending deadlines and facing uncertainty over how things will play out.